A historic wildfire has scorched 17,554 acres of Santa Rosa Island in California's Channel Islands National Park since igniting on May 15, 2026.
The blaze, which is human-caused, has consumed 32.7 percent of the island.
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According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the National Interagency Fire Center, the fire was 44 percent contained by Thursday morning, May 21.
The incident forced the evacuation of 11 National Park employees on Sunday and prompted the complete closure of the island to visitors.
Largest Recorded Blaze in Channel Islands
The fire is the largest recorded across any of the eight California Channel Islands, surpassing a 13,000-acre fire on San Clemente Island in July 2024.
Officials stated that extreme fire behavior caused the flames to spread northward from the southeastern shore of the island.
National Park Service spokesperson Ana Cholo told CNN that the local ecosystem is highly vulnerable to the unprecedented blaze.
"Fires of this size and magnitude are not considered common on Santa Rosa Island," Cholo said.
"The Channel Islands are not considered fire-adapted ecosystems in the same way many mainland Southern California ecosystems are."
Cholo noted that the fire threatens fragile, fire-sensitive habitats containing dozens of rare, unique plants and animals.
The fire currently coincides with the breeding season for the endangered Santa Rosa Island fox, bald eagles, and federally threatened western snowy plovers.
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The National Park Service confirmed that at least three historic structures were destroyed, including the Johnson's Lee Equipment Shed, an adjacent storage structure, and the Wreck Line Camp Cabin.
Marla Daily, president emerita of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, expressed deep concern over the severe cultural and environmental losses.
"In my years on the island, I can think of three or four fires on Santa Rosa Island.
We know that the fires are overwhelmingly human-caused," Daily said.
"It saddens me to see the loss of several historic buildings and irreplaceable artifacts that my family looked after for generations.
Not to mention, the endangerment of several endemic plants and animals found on Santa Rosa Island — notably the Torrey pines."
Initial assessments indicate the island's rare Torrey pine trees remain largely intact despite high-intensity fire hitting small pockets.
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Coast Guard also rescued an uninjured 67-year-old sailor from the island on Saturday after his boat crashed into local rocks on Friday.
